VALERIE VAZ MP SAYS GOVERNMENT AND PUBLIC AUTHORITIES SHOULD USE ‘PROJECT BANK ACCOUNTS’ TO TACKLE LATE PAYMENT

Valerie Vaz MP said:

“I am supporting a Ten minute rule bill presented by Debbie Abrahams MP which stands up for small businesses. The ‘Public Sector Supply Chains (Project Bank Accounts) Bill’ which passed its first reading in the House of Commons on 15 January 2019 calls for payments on Government and public authority contracts to be made through a ‘project bank account’ system ensuring small businesses are paid directly and on time.

There are 5.7 million small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in the UK which is over 99% of all businesses. This Bill stands up for small businesses. Late payment by large businesses is a massive issue across all business sectors leading to billions of pounds being owed to smaller companies for work that has been done.

When payments take a long time working their way along a supply chain from the contracting Government department or public authority, there is a risk that the cash could be cut-off at any time because of payer insolvency as happened with Carillion last year.

It is only right that Government and public authority projects should be setting the standard for making sure that supply chains are paid promptly and on time for work done and project bank accounts are one way to ensure this happens.

The Bill is scheduled to have its second reading in the House of Commons on Friday 1 March 2019.”